DIOVAN Reviews (VALSARTAN)

Average Rating: 2.0 (776 Ratings)

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 Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARBs)

 Type: Rx Drug

  

DIOVAN  (VALSARTAN):  Valsartan is used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure. It is also used to improve the chance of living longer after a heart attack. In people with heart failure, it may also lower the chance of having to go to the hospital for heart failure. Valsartan belongs to a class of drugs called angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). It works by relaxing blood vessels so that blood can flow more easily. Lowering high blood pressure helps prevent strokes, heart attacks, and kidney problems.   FDA Approval Date: 1996-12-23 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

  

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Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.)
5=HIGH (this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal.)

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RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR DIOVANCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 1  Cardiomyopathy I was on this drug for about 2 weeks, when I started having severe heart palpitations, chest pains, exhaustion, dizziness, nasty taste in my mouth and abdominal distress. The palpitations were so severe that after a couple of days I called my doctor and contemplated going to the emergency room. The doctor told me to discontinue use of this drug and after a couple of days, I returned to normal. This drug is GARBAGE. M 45 14 days
3/7/2007
 3  High Blood Pressure I have been taking Diovan for nearly a month now. It has lowered my blood pressure, but I have gained about 9 lbs. all around my waist and I seem to have excessive heart burn and gas. F 43 25 times
3/5/2007
 2  Hypertension I posted 11/15/2006 about side effects, most especially debilitating leg aches that prevented me from walking more than one block at a time without resting for a minute. I have gained 35 pounds since starting Diovan. I had same side effects on Lisinopril. As an update: I was switched to a beta blocker (Toprol XL) and within 48 hours the leg aches were gone. I have not been affected since, and am walking again. Now...to lose the weight! Now that I am off Diovan I realize I feel better overall. My blood pressure is under control, too, although it was on Diovan as well. F 56 9 months
3/3/2007
 2  HIGH BP Extremely tired all the time, tingling in hands, pressure in ears I have no energy. Hands tingle at times. I have moderate kidney failure and noticed that one of the warnings said to use extra caution with this med. Will ask my dr. about this today. Seems that drs. may not be aware of the side effects or they don't care. Hope it's not that. Hope I can find something else, maybe homeopathic. F 51 3 days
3/1/2007
 1  HBP Fatigue, especially in the morning. Difficulty waking up. Difficulty completing my usual (many years) walk, especially going uphill, flaking on my face and arms-really itchy and constant bladder issues-need to urninate a lot to not at all,I have experienced extreme feelings of heaviness and fatigue in my leg and hip muscles. tiredness in my back. Slight pressure in side of head, tingling hands and feet,Dry mouth, eyes hurt alot and I get a sharp pain from my left ear to my head, hoarsness to my voice, I have since experienced a foggy head, and a memory problem, I also have noticed a lot of hair loss, lack of concentration, Burning skin sensations on my shins, edema around ankles, joint pain in my legs, hips and back. TAKEN OFF OF ACCUPRIL DUE TO COUGH. DOCTOR PUT ME ON DIOVAN DUE TO FREE SAMPLES. WHEN SAMPLES OUT HE SWITCHED ME TO DIOVAN HCT, AGAIN DUE TO FREE SAMPLES. BOUT DESTROYED MY KIDNEYS AND PLACED BACK ON DIOVAN BY CARDIOLOGIST. LOWERED BP IMMEDIATELY BUT AFTER 6-8 WEEKS BEGAN SYMPTOMS. BEGAN RAISING MY HEART RATE TO OVER 100+ AND PLACED ON INDERAL. BOTH WORK WITHOUT QUESTION BUT WITH MUCHO SIDE EFFECTS. MY FACE AND LEGS ITCH BEYOND BELIEF. ALSO HAD BOUTS OF CONSTIPATION TO ACID STOMACH TO CONSTIPATED. ENOUGH FOR HROIDS AND BLEEDING. THIS STUFF IS BAD NEWS BUT WORKS. WOULD NOT WISH THIS MED OR SYMPTOMS ON MY DOG. GOING TO NEW DOCTOR SOON. M 50 2 years
2/26/2007
 1  blood pressure problems no#1 vision problems-blurring-light dark sensitive,eye lids lazyness-No Sleep- internal shakeing threwout body,nose runs-ears ringing tintinitus rushing sounds in both ears at times.pannic attacks off and on, palpitations off and on- sore inside nose- hair loss and thinning hair-hair turning grey way to early!-aches threwout body! I have tryed cutting down the dose from 40mg to 20mg but each time I feel im going threw a withdrawing symptoms from this drug.iv been on this drug for about 1year been fighting the side effects all along-first time I cutt back on the drug,seems side effect hit harder and more! If only my half wit Doctor would have taken the time to read about this stupid diovan drug and side effects it causes. maybe I wouldnt be going threw such pains or problems now! what in the world is up with these Doctors today? they seem act the part -but only cause problems for us with getting us hooked on these ugly Bad drugs for h.b.p. I feel they dont care and line us up as co payments the more they take in day the more Money they make! The Hmo and ppo systems are broken wheres the FDA! or did Bush screw that up too ? needless to say this drug stinks ! F 36 2 months
2/25/2007
 3  hbp Initial hair loss, but this has reversed, hairdresser said this often happens when changing med. or starting med.but returns to normal after a few months - she was right. Fatigue, loss of libido,insomnia, backpain, pains in legs and feet, dry skin, itching all over about half an hour after going to bed, blurred vision,headaches and strange head pains,noticable deterioration in hearing. Before taking Diovan I had developed a dry cough from my previous med. which I'd been on for 6 months.Before starting any hbp med. I had been experiencing twice monthly migraine attacks which lasted about 36 hours - the only thing I could do about them was go to bed and wait until they passed and try to cope with the terrible pain until it was over. I am worried about the side effects of Diovan especially now that I've seen this site and realize that what I'm experiencing are the side effects - and I intend to discuss this with my doctor- but even so this long list of side effects is still nowhere near as bad as the migraine attacks I suffered before medication, and which I have only experienced once since.Trouble is my bp hasn't lowered significantly so I may be facing an increase in dosage, and then I may feel differently about the side-effects.I'm glad I found this site! F 47 10 months
2/22/2007
 2  HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE Took 80 mg. Lowered my bp within one hour from 140/90 to 120/80. Felt exhausted. Called pharmacist and she said it should take btwn 2-4 weeks to take affect. WHen I told her it took one hour and I felt lousy, she said that I should talk to my doctor about taking 40mg instead. Haven't taken it in 3 days and just now my bp is starting to rise. Strong stuff! Don't really like it. Makes me feel like c**p. F 51 2 days
2/19/2007
 1  High B/P Hairloss!!!!! I tried to call Novaritis to do the right thing and report adverse reaction. They took my information & when I asked will it grow back?.. they gave me the run around and stated a person would call me back. She did but stated that this was post trial reaction but declined further comment. She stated that if I wanted further contact with the Novaritis, I would have to talk to their legal representative. Be careful it looks like we are the guinea-pigs. I do expect a class action law suit any time, there are too many of us out there that have had a bad time of it. F 45 2 months
2/17/2007
 1  H.B.P Here's a new one! I never read before anywhere! if anyone has this problem please let me know asap! my left eye lid is lazy and wont open when I wake up sometimes! as well the same eyeball gets bigger looking while on the medication. and vision is poor (blurred) and its very sensitive to light. its like I have Owl eye ! Im at my ropes end with these darn chemical drugs for b.p!! they all stink! everyone has side effects - what next I will grow a tail or a extra arm out my head ? im lost for words right now ! if anyone has this problem while on diovan or toprol let me know please, im sending a failure report to the drug makers of both medications ( not that they even care ) M 46 4 months
2/11/2007
 1  High Blood Pressure Was put on Diovan 80mg 2 years ago due to moderate hypertension, a great birthright passed down from my father's side of the family. I am otherwise healthy in diet, weight and exercise habits. At first the 80mg tablets seemed to be controlling my moderate hypertension (down to 115/75 on home monitoring and at my office visits). After about 9 months my numbers started creeping upwards to levels higher than I ever had in the many years of being diagnosed as "borderline" and off meds. Finally doctor upped dosage to 160mg daily. About three weeks after new dosing I ended up in the emergency room with severe heart palpitations and disorientation. Was sent home with Ativan prescription and told I had anxiety attack. About six weeks ago (1 year after emergency room visit) I started having constant ringing in ears and heart palpitations that are getting worse. Worst symptoms happen after getting into bed where ear ringing is deafening and palpitations feel like imminent hear As of tomorrow I am taking 3-4 days off of the Diovan (with close BP monitoring of course... though I can't imagine it getting worse than when I am having the palpitation attacks). After six weeks of constant ear ringing and irregular heart activity I have to try something to see if in fact it is the pills that are causing my misery. I can't live like this anymore! Calling doc on Monday. I like him so I am giving him one last chance to take my side effect complaints seriously before trying someone new. I just honestly think that doctors may be unaware of these effects coming with this medication. Thanks to everyone who has posted their thoughts on this site. I honestly thought I was losing my mind!!! It's unbelievably liberating knowing that others have experienced the h*ll I have been living through. How can so many clinicians be unaware of these possibilities with the use of this med?!?! M 32 2 years
2/10/2007
 1  H.B.P I Experienced: hair loss- waight gain by 8pounds-body cramps! - blurring visison- and vision problems- nose running with sore inside nose- throat closes up when eatting!-heartburn real bad!- headaches- chest pains out of knowhere! - breathing problems when I try to run or do something like working- im only 46 yrs old !!!! dont like it ! this drug is not good! it lowers blood pressure sometimes for me but not always! I can not do things normal,as I did before! im tired and weak feeling sometimes I feel faint! I get winded walking up stairs now! never did before!!! and I get a crazy locking feeling where I have to stop and rest when ever I try and run or do something somewhat normal. its robbing me of my life.. how can anyone take this crap!!! I have to find another way to go I also get burning in my left upper arm only! it comes and goes when I run or try to excell ! Iv never had this before Ever !!! iv been on this drug now 4months I hate it ! maybe im allergic to the stuff! doctor wont take me off it!! im in a Hmo plan M 46 4 months
2/7/2007
 5  Moderately Elevated BP None. I tried a ACE I inhibitor which resulted in a cough and a Beta Blocker which had numerous side effects. Since being on Diovan HCT, an ACE II inhibitor, I haven't noticed any side effects and my systolic has dropped from 145 to 132. Great drug. M 51 1.5 years
1/31/2007
 1  almost off it ! I have been on this site before and left a few reports on this bad nasty drug!DIOVAN!!! this drug is unsafe to take! as are most b.p medications,please read all side effects before taking it! make sure your not allergic to the medication your taking! in some cases you will or Must force your Doctor to test you ,with this drug !! I know it wont happen if your in a HMO group - Diovan is one Nasty medication for high blood pressure! if taken with another medication its super Nasty bad! I will soon be totaly off Diovan and Toprol free forever of them both! as I step into the Natural world of medications for the first time -I know it sounds crazy folks! but really I have no choice since iv tryed over 18 diffrent medications and been threw 9 doctors in my hmo system! every pill has side effects! and has caused my body harm and problems! and has interfeared with my life at work and at home! not one has worked good in lowering b.p down to normal readings! so I must turn to a natural way of medications and help. I keep seeing a old tv ad DRUGS KILL ! so do dumbell doctors! as I have found out, most dont care what they hand out ! its in and out the door ! see you in 6 or 8 months bye bye ! they get the co pay - you get bent over ! Im threw with Hmo's - thats another story! hope this works for me.. best of luck to me Loling.. here goes everything M 53 3 years
1/31/2007
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 1  high blood pressure Definite 12 pound weight gain (all around the middle where I've never been heavy) in two months starting exactly w/ Diovan start. Visible hair loss, dry skin, rashes, puffy eyes, more ashthma symptoms, edema around ankles, extreme sluggishness, inertia, irritablility. Told my doctor that I HAD to get off this. Am now just on HZT (25)...BP is higher than with Diovan, but tolerable (140/85 or so...was down to 115/70 with Diovan). After just one week after stopping Diovan, I am losing girth around the middle, feel like myself again and wish that you all could get off this drug. It's sneakily bad...it takes a while to notice that you're not yourself at all in any way. (My Dr. is sympathetic and reasonable but many do not believe that these drugs have these insidious side effects.) TRY HZT ALONE!! F 51 2.5 days
1/29/2007
 1  high blood pressure Definite 12 pound weight gain (all around the middle where I've never been heavy) in two months starting exactly w/ Diovan start. Visible hair loss, dry skin, rashes, puffy eyes, more ashthma symptoms, edema around ankles, extreme sluggishness, inertia, irritablility. Told my doctor that I HAD to get off this. Am now just on HZT (25)...BP is higher than with Diovan, but tolerable (140/85 or so...was down to 115/70 with Diovan). After just one week after stopping Diovan, I am losing girth around the middle, feel like myself again and wish that you all could get off this drug. It's sneakily bad...it takes a while to notice that you're not yourself at all in any way. (My Dr. is sympathetic and reasonable but many do not believe that these drugs have these insidious side effects.) TRY HZT ALONE!! F 51 2.5 days
1/29/2007
 2  HBP After being on Diovan 40 for 4 weeks and Diovan 80 for 2 weeks, I woke up in the middle of last night with severe dizziness (vertigo), the room was spinning. I was able to go back to sleep but same thing happened when I woke up this morning; the vertigo was accompanied by nausea (I still took my Diovan 80 with water, as I do every morning, but threw it up half hour later...). Other side effects I have noticed: less urination, sluggishness, less mental acuity, (I work in finance so this is definitely not a good thing), and I have stopped menstruating. My bp is still higher than it should be, although it has come down from where it was before I started taking medication. I have a call in to the doctor; I don't think I want to continue on this particular medicine. F 45 6 weeks
1/23/2007
 1  Hypertension Extreme fatigue and 'foggy' head, anxiety, loss of enthusiasm and libido, hair loss, sinusitis, swelling and pain in some joints, heavy legs and flu like symptoms, Frequent loose stools, acid reflux (which may or may not be caused by drug), weight gain round waist, marked increase in pulse rate, pains and cramps in my muscles, particularly my upper back, shoulders, feet and hands. I have quite a few problems with side effects from drugs and was pleased that Diovan suited me at first(40mg)apart from feeling a little tired I felt ok. After some months I started to develop problems with my sinuses for the first time ever but didn't connect it. Had an operation to sort them out, but problems continued. Dosage of Diovan was increased to 80mg and my sinuses became worse, I was having to take antibiotics at regular intervals, coughing incessantly and had to make frequent visits to an ENT specialist who said, after a CT scan that I may need another operation. After a few years I began to find walking difficult as my legs were so heavy and I had pain in my joints. I felt as if I was recovering from flu. I also had problems with my bowels and digestive system. Was given tablets to suppress the acid in my stomach (which in themselves had awful side effects so I eventually stopped taking them). I began to think I was developing some kind of illness. I discoverd this web F 56 5 years
1/17/2007
 2  Switched from another Switched from Hydrochlorothiazide due to sun sensitivity but otherwise ok. It's been 3 weeks on 40mg. diovan. Higher bloodpressure, 7lb weight gain, terrible bloating, burning face. Normally got up at 5:30-6am. Dragging myself out of bed at 7:00. Nausea almost every morning like other said like morning sickness (this has diminished), Irritable, lethargic. Dr. put me back on Hydro.. as of today. F 54 3 weeks
1/12/2007
 1  Kidney Protection Weight gain, shoulder pain bad enough to disrupt sleep and keep me in constant pain, muscle weakness and fatigue, blurred vision... Almost all of the symptoms described by other patients I have experienced, except the hair loss. Dr. Rx'd this for kidney protection (I'm diabetic) and the side effects are affecting my health worse than the original condition. Diovan was Rx'd for preventive purposes only, and never for HBP. If your Dr. wants you on this stuff, tell him no thanks doc. M 39 3 years
1/11/2007

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